Neurostimulation, i.e., neuromuscular stimulation (the electrical excitation of nerves and/or muscle to directly elicit the contraction of muscles) and neuromodulation stimulation (the electrical excitation of nerves, often afferent nerves, to indirectly affect the stability or performance of a physiological system) and brain stimulation (the stimulation of cerebral or other central nervous system tissue) can provide functional and/or therapeutic outcomes. While existing systems and methods can provide remarkable benefits to individuals requiring neurostimulation, many quality of life issues still remain. For example, existing systems perform a single, dedicated stimulation function, and are unable to operate in a fashion to provide coordinated stimulation to multiple regions of a body. Furthermore, these controllers are, by today's standards, relatively large and awkward to manipulate and transport.
There exist both external and implantable devices for providing neurostimulation in diverse therapeutic and functional restorations indications. These neurostimulators are able to provide treatment therapy to individual portions of the body. The operation of these devices typically includes the use of an electrode placed either on the external surface of the skin, a vaginal or anal electrode, and/or a surgically implanted electrode. In the case of external neurostimulators, a percutaneous lead having an electrode is coupled to the external stimulator and the lead implanted within the body to deliver electrical stimulation to the select portion of the patient's body.
Existing systems commonly use line power or battery power to operate stimulation circuitry and to generate stimulation pulses. The power is generally not controllable, meaning that without appropriate user controls—that may or may not be used, the system could produce stimulation pulses as long as the system is connected to line power or the battery has enough capacity to operate the system, both of which could be for days, weeks, or even months.
When a battery is used for existing systems, the battery is incidental to the stimulation regime and is replaced at the end of its battery life. The battery is included to provide only a source of power, with the battery selection typically being a compromise between the physical size of the battery and as long of a battery life as possible, i.e., the battery is typically as small as possible but provides as long of a battery life as possible. While the existing systems and methods provide the capability of providing power and user controls, many limitations and issues still remain.
Systems and methods for providing coordinated stimulation to multiple areas of the body are not practical with known stimulators. Multiple individual stimulators may be used to provide stimulation to multiple areas of the body, but there lacks effective systems and methods that are able to coordinate the stimulation to multiple areas throughout the body.
It is time that systems and methods for providing neurostimulation address not only specific prosthetic or therapeutic objections, but also address the quality of life of the individual requiring neurostimulation, including the ability to control the power to the stimulation circuitry and to provide coordinated stimulation to multiple regions of a body.